The transfer of information over computer networks has become an increasingly important way by which institutions, corporations, and individuals communicate and conduct business. Computer networks have grown over the years from independent and isolated entities established to serve the needs of a single group into vast networks that interconnect disparate physical networks and allow them to function as a coordinated system. The largest computer network in existence, the Internet, is a worldwide interconnection of computer networks that communicate via web pages using common protocols.
A software application used to locate and display the web pages on the computer network is a browser. Millions of computers, from low-end personal computers to high-end super computers, may be connected to the Internet via the browsers. Sometimes, when trying to connect one computer to another computer on the network, a delay occurs in establishing the connection. The browser may display an error message while the computer continues to send requests to establish a connection. The delay may be normal, but a user may believe a problem exists if the browser error message is displayed to the user during the connection process.